Bad Design !

[Ross_K]

Didn't we have the HID conversation on here a while back?

Someone was trying to say that it was ok to fit an eBay HID kit to a Xantia as the hydropneumatic suspension was the only self-levelling mechanism the lights needed...

[Homer]

The having to remove half the car to replace a bulb story seems to crop up regularly, it was banded around about the Pug 807 a couple of years ago, but I've replaced both bulbs with only the customary scraped fingers.

Just another of those urban myths taken too far, or a regular stealership scam.

[ACTIVE8]

The having to remove half the car to replace a bulb story seems to crop up regularly, it was banded around about the Pug 807 a couple of years ago, but I've replaced both bulbs with only the customary scraped fingers.

Just another of those urban myths taken too far, or a regular stealership scam.

Well speaking about a stealership scam there's the one where even if the owner of a certain make of vehicle has mechanical knowledge, and can strip apart something they reach the stage where they require a special tool from the stealers special tool stores, needless to say the use of the tool is essential as without it the job cannot be done, and the stealer cannot supply another one, and will not lend out the one they have for fear of not having it returned.

Therefore the customer has to pay for them to use this special tool.

It's a catch 22 situation delibrately done by the manufacturer.

[ACTIVE8]

in parts of Europe you have to carry spare bulbs by law

what other surprises are in store from the manufacturers.

A good surprise with the Xantia.
The inner rear sidelight, item 3, has a 21/5W bulb, with the 5W only being used.
So, when the 21W brake bulb fails, it can be swapped for the sidelight bulb.

I like that Clogzz.

You could say that's a "Good Design."

What happened there then, didn't the designers report their design specs, and costings correctly to the Euro pinchers.

[Xaccers]

I'm happy to report that on the M4 in Wales, a car with it's front fogs on was flashed by a speed camera

[Clogzz]

didn't the designers report their design specs, and costings correctly to the Euro pinchers.

Hi ACTIVE8

Well yes, the bean counters and spin doctors will have been able to say that the compulsory spare globe was temporarily used as a sidelight, thus saving them the cost of an unused spare.

[ACTIVE8]

A few years ago when the French cars in France were required to have the yellow colour they stood out clearly, and they did not have a blinding effect.

O.K. so they have been required to be the same as the rest of Europe for some time, but it's like we gone from one extreme to another especialy over there!

What's in store for the future light years ahead ?

[ACTIVE8]

Recently a certain German manufacturer adopted an idea, and passed it off as their own idea, I.E. the DS headlamps that turn which Citroen used and designed many years ago.

Well done BMW not !



So if the control that is there to adjust the headlamp beam inside the vehicle on most cars was not there, then you would not get the dummys fiddling with it, and they would be left set correctly.

As there was not any driver input on the DS headlamps other than turning the steering wheel, and the level of the beams was kept correct by the suspension then, and suspension even now as there is no adjuster on the Xantia is there !

Therefore the beam setting should have been dependent on vehicle load and suspension setting like on a Citroen. This would be possible with some small amount of work on any vehicle, and would ensure that the opportunity to blind another driver is prevented from occuring.

Given too many switches to play with, and with drivers not reading the manual leads to problem being created by "bad design" lead by "bean counters" euro pinching at the initial planning stage of the vehicle.